U.S. OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

June 17, 2000

Tiger Woods

TIGER WOODS: Well, to expand it to the point where it's at right now, no, I didn't think it would. But I knew if I shot even par or somewhere close to that, I'd probably pick up a shot or two, just because the conditions were so severe out there , that anything -- just grind it out, shoot your level par, and post it. And I just figured that with that much wind and that much rough out there, that the guys might have a little trouble.

TIGER WOODS: It will be exactly the same as it's been every day: Hit a lot of fairways. And if I have the situations, fire at it; and if I don't, dump it on the green somewhere and move on.

TIGER WOODS: Well, I think, I guess starting from when I was a little boy, I've always enjoyed competing. And I think that's one of the reasons why I've been able to win tournaments, because I thoroughly enjoy competing, win or lose. I love to have the chance. If I -- with another sport, for instance, basketball, I want to take the game-winning shot, make it or miss it -- just the fact that I have that opportunity to take it. And golf is the same way. If you have the lead or you're in the lead, or it's neck and neck coming down the stretch, that's where I want to be. And I guess tomorrow, when I go out there, if I play solid golf and play the way I know I can, then somebody is going to have to shoot a really good number.

TIGER WOODS: Well, I think I've played better this year than I did in '97, just because of the fact that it's so much more difficult off the tee. Back when I played at the Masters in '97, there was no rough. You can hit the driver as hard as you want, anywhere you wanted to, and you know it's going to be in the fairway. This week it's not that way. You need to go out there and just grind it away and hit the golf ball in the fairway at all costs, somehow. I've hit some weird clubs off the tees, but I've kept the ball in play. And I guess the results are similar, but it's really hard to compare the two. They're similar in the fact that I've played the same way, just the golf courses are so different.

TIGER WOODS: I hit a rock. There was a rock right in front of my ball. I knew, in order to hit the shot, I had to take the rock out, and I took it out. It put a nick in my club.

TIGER WOODS: My hand was fine. It's just that -- any player that plays golf has calluses. I hit the shot, and my hand just turned. And I have cord grips. And on the nongloved hand, it gripped my callus. Other than that, it's just fine. It was so cold out there.

TIGER WOODS: It was a hazard, so I didn't ground my club.

TIGER WOODS: Yeah, it died down quite a bit coming in. But we played the hardest holes in the wind. We played, I guess, the toughest stretch, 8, 9 and 10, in a pretty good wind. Starting out the day, we played No. 5 in a pretty good wind. The wind cost me a shot at No. 3 -- actually a few shots at No. 3. But that's just the way the luck of the draw goes. It's very similar to a British Open. The morning could be terrible; the afternoon could be great, or vice-versa. I just figured, if I could just keep plugging along, that generally what happens is the wind does die down in the evening, and it did.

TIGER WOODS: To be perfectly honest, no, it hasn't, just because the tournament is not over yet. Until it's finished, yeah, then I'll think about it, and I'll reflect on it, and hopefully have some pretty good memories. But until that moment comes, I need to keep working and get the job done, and then I'll enjoy it pretty good.

TIGER WOODS: A 7.

TIGER WOODS: Yeah.

TIGER WOODS: I had one foot in, one foot out. I was in some hay. Had a half-decent lie, and only had 64 yards to the front. I figured if I carried it 64, it might roll all the way there; but if not, leave it short of the green, 2-putt, and move on. When it first came out, it looked pretty good. Then, all of a sudden, it dropped. I said, "That's short." But it landed on the green and released up there to the hole. And Stevie said, "This is an important putt. You have to bury this putt." And I went ahead and concentrated and made that thing right in the middle of the hole.

TIGER WOODS: I was looking at the leaderboard all day. And, of course, it's not playing easy out there. If you're out there, it's blowing. And it's hard to shoot a good number when it's blowing out there. The greens aren't that smooth, and they're rock hard. It's unusual for us playing Pebble Beach with all the experience that a lot of the guys have had in playing here in the AT&T or Crosby, and watching golf balls with wedges skip 20 feet before they think about stopping. Usually, they're plugging them with drivers. Stevie and I were laughing at the front. We ripped a 3-wood on the first hole at the AT&T, and today a chip 5-iron down there.

TIGER WOODS: Probably right before the Byron Nelson. I went out fly fishing with Marco, and there was a lot of wind. It's hard to shoot the line in the wind, and I just don't have quite the experience yet.

TIGER WOODS: Well, on 18, it was just absolute double-cross. It it's just frustrating to end a round of golf like that. I did not hit that bad a shot on 3, and to get -- I don't know how my ball ended up where it did. If you look at that lie, you can barely see the golf ball. I was playing sideways, and I couldn't even play sideways. And I thought about taking it out and taking the lie, it was that bad. But I figured: Go ahead and play it, you might be able to get it to the fairway or get in the rough where you can pitch on and get a putt. I couldn't get it out. But I smiled just because of the fact I didn't hit that bad a shot, and I ended up with walking away with 7. On 18, I did hit a pretty bad shot.

TIGER WOODS: Well, it was the heat of the moment. I'm one of the those guys who plays pretty intense; and unfortunately, I let it slip out. And I regret doing it. But unfortunately it happened. And I can apologize until I'm blue in the face; but when you're a competitor and you're fighting all day, and it was early in the morning, and I just went ahead and hit probably the worst shot I hit all week on a hole I can get there in two. And I proved that. It was just very frustrating, and I let it go a little bit.

TIGER WOODS: Ask me that tomorrow.

TIGER WOODS: No. I'm usually playing against Jack and Arnold and Hogan and those guys, and usually it's neck and neck. But I've never had anything like this, even in fantasy golf, playing late in the evenings.

TIGER WOODS: It's not important at all. I need to go out and get the job done tomorrow. I think the record in itself will be able to take that trophy home with you.

TIGER WOODS: A lot more knowledgeable.

TIGER WOODS: And far fewer cameras, a lot. We play AT&T, you look this way, and it's strobe lights.

TIGER WOODS: I think probably the most severe had to have been Birkdale on the third round. I think that's probably the most severe I've ever played in a major championship. The wind was blowing pretty good. I hit a 4-iron from 150 yards, stuff like that. Just a little awkward. And it was cold.

TIGER WOODS: I think -- it's not necessarily making putts. It's making the right putt at the right time. There comes a point in time in the round when you need to make that big par-putt to keep the momentum going or build on something you've already had. You don't want to lose anything. And I've been able to make those par-putts this week. It's hard to explain why. Simple fact that I've concentrated just like I normally do. But the putts are just going in. Those putts generally keep the momentum going or build on what you have. For some reason, you make a big par-putt on a major championship by 8 or 10 feet, you feel even better than you do making a birdie. It's the weirdest feeling, but you really do. And I've had that feeling, fortunately and unfortunately, a lot this week.

TIGER WOODS: Well, it all depends on how I play. Ernie played a beautiful round of golf today. He holed out on 4, and almost chipped in on 6. He started out beautifully, and hit the ball well, and maintained that all the way throughout the round. And that was not easy to do. So he just proved to you why he's won two of these titles. He's able to play solid golf under tough conditions on an extremely difficult golf course, and that's why he's been as successful as he has in U.S. opens. Going into tomorrow, if I can just go out there and hit a lot of good solid shots, especially off the tees, I feel like if I drive the ball in a lot of fairways tomorrow, I have a pretty good chance, no matter what he shoots.